Access to Personal Data in Public Land Registers: Balancing Publicity of Property Rights with the Rights to Privacy and Data Protection

When you buy a home, should that also mean you have to inform the whole world where you live, how much you paid for it, and whether you financed the purchase with a mortgage loan? In essence, the Netherlands and England & Wales answer this question in the affirmative. The only thing that stands in the way of anyone accessing this information in the land registry is the payment of a small fee. In Germany, on the other hand, access to this personal data is restricted to the person who can show a legitimate interest in the information. This study examines the principle of publicity of propert... Mehr ...